Richard Worsam Meade II

Richard Worsam Meade II (1807-16 April 1870) was a US Navy commander during the American Civil War. In 1839, he was one of the two Navy officers who intercepted the Amistad off Long Island and claimed its slaves as salvage, the other being Thomas R. Gedney.

Biography
Richard Worsam Meade II was born in Spain in 1807, the brother of General George Meade of Gettysburg fame. He entered the US Navy as a Midshipman in April 1826, and he became a lieutenant in December 1837. In 1839, while serving aboard USS Massachusetts, he took part in the intercept of the slave schooner Amistad and the capture of its crew, mostly African slaves. Meade and Lieutenant Thomas R. Gedney attempted to claim the slaves as salvage, but, after receipts for their purchase were introduced as evidence, their claims were rejected. In 1851, Meade resigned his commission, but he briefly served again from 1854 to 1855. During the American Civil War, he rejoined the Navy as a Commander. He died in Brooklyn, New York in 1870.